RichmondCC, UNCP Strengthen Transfer Pathway for Teacher Education Students

March 12, 2021 - Richmond Community College and the University of North Carolina-Pembroke have revamped the “Growing Our Own Teachers” initiative to strengthen this transfer pathway for RichmondCC students to become North Carolina teachers.

Leaders from both schools came together on Thursday at the Cole Auditorium to celebrate the collaborative work they have put into making sure the transfer process is seamless and students are better prepared for the UNCP School of Education.

Dr. Robin Cummings, Chancellor of UNCP, talked about the impact his childhood teachers had on his life and the important role teachers play in the lives of children.

“We are here today to raise up that next generation of teachers, and their job is going to be a whole lot harder in this day and age than it was 50 years ago for a lot of reasons,” Cummings said. “We need to train teachers, give them that experience, give them that education so they can go out there and mold and shape those young kids’ minds to be ready to go into the world.”

Dr. Dale McInnis, President of RichmondCC, addressed the teacher shortage problem in rural North Carolina and the need for this initiative.

“Rural North Carolina has to grow our own teachers, because the current business model is not sustainable,” he said, explaining how new teachers who are recruited from out of state leave after just a few years to return to their home states. “And then we begin that same cycle over again. It never ends, but we have talent, brains, will power, courage right here at home.”

Research has proven that graduates in education who begin their teaching careers in the same regions and school districts where they live are more likely to remain teaching in North Carolina public schools.

McInnis said community colleges and universities in North Carolina have been working together to create more specific pathways for students to go into education, but the strategy that RichmondCC and UNCP have worked out provides a truly seamless transfer process for students and better prepares them to pass the PRAXIS teacher certification exam.

“The power of this new agreement incorporates all the tools that we have and UNCP has to graduate students with a teaching degree in four years with little to no debt,” McInnis said. “We want to recognize the prestige, the esteem and the value that school teachers deserve.”

Some of those tools include the RichmondCC Guarantee, which provides two years free tuition to eligible RichmondCC students, the Lois McKay Smith Memorial Scholarship for RichmondCC students planning to pursue a teaching career, and the Tuition Promise program at UNCP that limits total college costs per semester to $500.

Dr. Loury Floyd, Dean of Education at UNCP, also spoke about the conversations that were had between the two schools to identify problems that were preventing students from being successful in the education program.

“We quickly turned that conversation into solutions,” she said. “As the leader of UNCP’s Educator Preparation Programs, our mission has been and will continue to be, during the COVID 19 pandemic and beyond, to ensure that Southeast North Carolina has a strong supply of prepared teachers.”

Also speaking at the celebration was Richmond County Schools teacher Gretchen Martin, who graduated from RichmondCC and UNCP’s School of Education. She teaches in the Early College program and is an adjunct for RichmondCC.

“While I am not a direct result of this initiative, I am the person for whom this program was designed,” said the Richmond County native who has never left home. “I can sincerely say I have no regrets about remaining close to home. Taking a different path would have likely been overwhelming for me to be away so much.”

Martin said over the years she has worked with many students like herself, whose roots run deep in their hometowns or they have obligations to their families. She applauded the “Growing Our Own Teachers” program for making a career in education possible for all types of students.

To learn more about this teacher education program, contact the Career & Transfer Center by calling (910) 410-1700 or visit RichmondCC’s Hamlet Campus or Scotland County Campus to meet with a counselor. The College is now registering students for summer classes. To apply, visit Admissions.